LilMtnCbn
03-01-2004, 06:36 AM
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=76234
Woman faces trial in adoption fraud
The Associated Press
March 1, 2004
PORTLAND — A woman facing trial on adoption fraud charges preyed on the
vulnerability of couples desperate to have a baby of their own, a federal
prosecutor says.
“It’s a heartbreaking case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire Fay said.
Joella Kern, 36, has been indicted on 24 counts of wire fraud in Oregon and
Washington state, and faces trials in April in U.S. District Court in Portland
and in Yakima, Wash.
Federal investigators said that between December 2001 and December 2002, Kern
used the Internet to promise couples that she would either locate surrogate
mothers for them or act as a surrogate mother herself.
But when it was time for the couples to receive their babies, Kern became
elusive, often telling them that she had been diagnosed with cancer, or that
her mother had died, and that she needed to take a break from the adoption
process.
The financial loss from Kern’s schemes totals about $45,000, said John
Kirkwood, resident agent in charge for the U.S. Secret Service office in
Spokane, Wash.
One couple, Sheree and David Compton, flew from Tickfaw, La., to Portland in
February 2002.
For months, they had negotiated with Kern, who lived in Washington and then
Oregon and had promised to link them with a surrogate mother for $500. The
Comptons were thrilled when Kern told them the birth mother was expecting
twins.
But after a week of waiting at a Portland hotel for Kern to bring them the
twins, the Comptons returned to Tickfaw empty-handed and heartbroken.
Authorities said Kern was living in eastern Washington when some of the fraud
took place. She later moved to Joseph.
Kern’s attorney, Stephen Sady, an assistant federal public defender, said he
did not want to comment on the case before trial.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Woman faces trial in adoption fraud
The Associated Press
March 1, 2004
PORTLAND — A woman facing trial on adoption fraud charges preyed on the
vulnerability of couples desperate to have a baby of their own, a federal
prosecutor says.
“It’s a heartbreaking case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire Fay said.
Joella Kern, 36, has been indicted on 24 counts of wire fraud in Oregon and
Washington state, and faces trials in April in U.S. District Court in Portland
and in Yakima, Wash.
Federal investigators said that between December 2001 and December 2002, Kern
used the Internet to promise couples that she would either locate surrogate
mothers for them or act as a surrogate mother herself.
But when it was time for the couples to receive their babies, Kern became
elusive, often telling them that she had been diagnosed with cancer, or that
her mother had died, and that she needed to take a break from the adoption
process.
The financial loss from Kern’s schemes totals about $45,000, said John
Kirkwood, resident agent in charge for the U.S. Secret Service office in
Spokane, Wash.
One couple, Sheree and David Compton, flew from Tickfaw, La., to Portland in
February 2002.
For months, they had negotiated with Kern, who lived in Washington and then
Oregon and had promised to link them with a surrogate mother for $500. The
Comptons were thrilled when Kern told them the birth mother was expecting
twins.
But after a week of waiting at a Portland hotel for Kern to bring them the
twins, the Comptons returned to Tickfaw empty-handed and heartbroken.
Authorities said Kern was living in eastern Washington when some of the fraud
took place. She later moved to Joseph.
Kern’s attorney, Stephen Sady, an assistant federal public defender, said he
did not want to comment on the case before trial.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
